Pride CEO discusses plans

NEWS

by Seth Hemmelgarn

The new head of the San Francisco LGBT Pride Parade and
Celebration Committee has a lot of ideas for making Pride a year-round event.

"Pride is much more than just that weekend, that week,
or that month," Earl Plante, 40, said, referring to the annual June
celebration. Ideas include a speaker series and discussions on topics like
marriage equality.

But first, Plante, the openly gay CEO of San Francisco Pride,
said the group has to get through this year's festivities, which are planned
for June 29-30.

Officials are "on target," Plante, who officially
started the job December 17, said in a recent interview.

There's a lot to prepare for. San Francisco's Pride
celebration is one of the world's largest, drawing hundreds of thousands of
people to the city's streets every year. Since 1997, Pride has granted over
$2.1 million to nonprofits through its community partner program. This year,
the organization has a budget of about $1.7 million.

Much of that revenue comes from sponsorships. This year,
Pride has budgeted $690,000 from sponsors. So far, more than $500,000 has been
committed. Last year's sponsorship goal was about $500,000 to $600,000.

Plante said a lot of the money tends to come in May through
July, and "we need the money more on the front end." Sponsors have
been "very responsive" to that message, he said, and many have
committed to increasing their support.

Last year, the board decided to replace Executive Director
Brendan Behan, a decision that caught many, including Behan, by surprise.

Behan became Pride's interim executive director in April
2011 and eventually gained the permanent position. The top post had been vacant
since former Executive Director Amy Andre left in November 2010, just over a
year after she started the job.

Soon after the 2010 celebration, several community partners
complained that Pride had shortchanged them. In December 2010, the city
controller's office revealed that the nonprofit was $225,000 in debt. As of
September, most of that had been paid down.

The move to replace Behan seemed to be based on a desire for
him to be an at-will employee, meaning the board could terminate him at any
time.

"I honor Brendan's contributions to Pride," said Plante,
whose contract is also at-will. Any issues there were around Behan's tenure
"are in the past," and Plante indicated he plans to stay for a while.

"This is a dream job for me," he said during a
January 11 interview with the Bay Area Reporter.

Plante has several years of experience in the nonprofit
sector, including development and communications work. His most recent job
before joining Pride was the Latino Commission on AIDS in New York. Plante
wouldn't disclose his salary at Pride.

Possibilities outside June

At the time of the interview with Plante, he said he'd been
meeting with people to get their input and "share my vision for the
organization." A large part of that vision seems to include developing
programming throughout the year.

Plante said among the options he's been thinking about are a
speaker series and discussions on topics such as marriage equality. Those plans
would wait until after this year's events, he said, with a speaker series
possibly being rolled out in 2014 or 2015.

He said he wants to reach out to organizations that the
nonprofit hasn't traditionally worked with, including sports teams and other
businesses. Plante also spoke of "bringing new resources to the
table" and explaining to potential supporters, "this is an
organization that needs to be on your radar screen," and why.

He'd also like to see a study on Pride's economic impact on
the city. Such a report hasn't been done in several years, he said.

'Critical juncture'

Plante, who previously lived in San Francisco, said the
Pride organization "is at a critical juncture."

There's been a lack of strategic planning in recent years at
Pride as it recovered from serious leadership and financial troubles, and he
eventually wants to "map out the next three to five years."

He said the LGBT movement is also at a "critical
moment," with one example being the U.S. Supreme Court potentially
deciding in June – around the time of the Pride festival – on whether
same-sex marriage should be legal. He said despite "dramatic progress,"
there's "still work to do," including gaining employment protections
for LGBTs nationwide and addressing hate crimes.

Plante, who comes from a mixed-race family, spoke of his own
childhood experiences with poverty and homelessness and his obligation to
advocate for social justice.

He noted that in 2015, Pride will mark its 45th anniversary,
and he said he sees "an opportunity to build on the strong legacy of
service." Pride's "hallmark" is inclusion of people in
marginalized communities and others, Plante said.

He said he wants everyone to have "an opportunity to
engage," and to know their opinions are valued and respected.

"I'm open to what the community wants," he said.

Unfinished business

The Pride organization had planned to give people a chance
to deliver their input in person at a forum last Friday, February 8, at the San
Francisco Public Library, but the event was canceled.

In a phone message that day, Plante said, "We decided
internally to open it up to a larger group of community stakeholders, so that's
why we postponed the event. We're in the process of looking for a larger
space."

Others are also waiting for some news from the nonprofit.

San Francisco's Grants for the Arts office is set to provide
$58,400 for this year's parade. In a January 29 interview, Kary Schulman, the
city agency's director, said none of that money had been distributed yet.

"We're still waiting for some audit information before
we can release any of the grant," Schulman said. "... It's to their
advantage to submit [the audits] as soon as possible." She said her agency
was waiting on the audits for 2010 and 2011.

Plante has said an auditor has been working on the audits
for the fiscal years ending in September 2009, 2010, and 2011.

In an email Wednesday, February 13, he said as soon as the
audits were completed, his organization would share them with the B.A.R.

The theme for the 43rd annual San Francisco LGBT Pride
Parade and celebration is "Embrace, Encourage, Empower." For more
information, visit http://www.sfpride.org.